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Geometric Aging of the Thoracic Aorta: Insights From 2 Large Cohorts

Cameron Beeche1,2, Hamed Tavolinejad2,3, Bingxin Zhao4

  • 1Department of Bioengineering (C.A.B.), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)
|September 11, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Aging significantly alters thoracic aorta geometry, causing elongation, dilation, and decreased curvature. These changes are more pronounced in females, potentially impacting arterial hemodynamics.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Aortic structural degeneration is a known consequence of aging.
  • However, detailed characterization of 3D geometric remodeling in large populations is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify age-related 3D geometric changes in the thoracic aorta.
  • To investigate potential sex differences in aortic remodeling due to aging.

Main Methods:

  • Segmentation of the thoracic aorta from MRI (UK Biobank) and CT (Penn Medicine Biobank) scans.
  • Quantification of aortic elongation, dilation, tortuosity, and curvature.
  • Multivariate linear regression to assess associations between age and aortic structure.

Main Results:

  • Aging consistently associated with significant elongation, luminal dilation, and decreased curvature across cohorts.
  • Aortic volume showed the strongest association with age.
  • Females exhibited less pronounced dilation and more pronounced curvature changes, particularly post-menopause.

Conclusions:

  • Aging induces substantial 3D geometric remodeling of the thoracic aorta.
  • Sex-specific differences in aortic remodeling may contribute to distinct hemodynamic profiles in older adults.
Abstract

Keywords:
UK Biobankagingaortamagnetic resonance imagingtomography

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